Epic
Epic gets it's title from the fact that it was a truly epic journey to make it. It started off with the idea to make a progressive piece of about ten minutes long with just a few parts that would repeat it self. The idea of Epic is that it is a journey visiting different styles that are somehow connected.
I guess the best thing to do is to explain the making of the different parts
The intro is made up of various violin samples and some electronics that I put together forming a melody.
The first part consists of a 12 string guitar melody made up out of eight different samples that I edited until they formed a melody together. Next I created the drums, played the bass and added the guitar melody which I played on the Jackson guitar.
The second part is based on a guitar theme with a pseudo Pink Floyd feel to which I added various keyboard melodies and a synth bass. That flows into the third part that is quite melodic and a little bit funky. The guitar parts were done on the Stratocaster and the free solo that I added contrasts with the free wheeling bass line.
The fourth part starts with a distinctive piano sample and the drums building up. A little bit the feeling of Mike Oldfield. Every time a new instrument joins the band lol. The drums were all created in MIDI and played on my MIDI keyboard.
The fifth part starts with the repetition of the guitar theme of the second part and once joined by drums and bass sounds momentarily like a three piece band.
The final part sounds a bit old style with traditional rock guitar picking and a Hammond B3 played on the MIDI keyboard. The first two melodies are played with an E Bow (see picture). An electronic bow for guitar is a sort of a magnetic element that lets one string vibrate so you can play a melody on that particular string with your left hand. This part is followed by traditional double guitar solos.
The end part is a repetition of the piano theme from the fourth part with birds singing in the forest. It slowly fades away at the end of the tune.
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